Atticus and the Bonds Beyond Time
by PerkyGoth14
Summary: Atticus tells his family about the time he met his distant cousin Yusei Fudo for the first time in New Domino City after Yusei comes over for a visit, and they share a story about how they had to save the future of Duel Monsters for everyone including the help of someone named Jaden Yuki and a new ally of Atticus's who is of course Yugi Moto.
1. Chapter 1

"Sorry about not picking you up on time, Yusei, I got caught up in something else." Atticus said to his distant cousin as they came into the house together.

"It's alright, I wasn't waiting that long." Yusei told him.

Atticus then took him into the guest room. "We just set up this guest room," he then told his cousin. "I know it isn't much, but I hope you like it."

"It seems decent enough." Yusei said as he came inside. He soon noticed Darla looking a little shy to her distant cousin.

"Hey, kiddo." Atticus smiled to his little sister.

"H-Hey, Atticus." Darla smiled back while still being shy around Yusei.

"Is this the little sister you talked about that one time on the phone?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah," Atticus replied. "This is my little sister, Darla. Darla, this is our distant cousin, Yusei."

"Hello, Yusei." Darla smiled shyly.

"Hey, Darla," Yusei smiled back. "It's nice to meet you."

"Where are you from?" Darla asked him.

"New Domino City." Yusei smiled.

"Is that far?" Darla asked.

"Pretty far from here," Yusei replied. "I had to take a long ride to come down here."

"How come we haven't met before?" Darla asked.

"I guess I've just been busy back home," Yusei replied. "A lot goes on down there. Atticus told me you were adopted, right?"

"Yes, I was," Darla nodded. "I really love having a big brother though, especially whenever I need advice or protection."

"And I'm always happy to give advice and happy to protect." Atticus smiled.

"That's very noble of you, Atticus," Yusei smiled back to his cousin. "You always were the noble one."

Atticus smiled bashfully as this was true.

* * *

Soon enough, it was time for dinner. Yusei put his stuff away and soon came to join his family to dinner as he was visiting.

"It's so great to see you again, Yusei." Emily smiled.

"Thanks, Aunt Emily, it's good to be back," Yusei smiled back. "You really know how to make a guest feel at home."

"That's your Aunt Emily for ya." Patrick smiled back.

"Yeah, I'll say," Yusei chuckled. "Thank you for having me too."

"You seemed like you could use a break from home." Emily smiled.

"Yeah, you could say that." Yusei agreed.

"Especially when we encountered Paradox." Atticus said.

"Ooh." Darla and Patch smiled.

"Ooh, you had to bring that up, didn't you?" Yusei replied to his cousin.

"Please tell us the story again." Darla begged Atticus as she and Patch used their puppy dog eyes.

"Well..." Atticus replied before looking to his cousin. "Would that be all right with you?"

"You might as well since they weren't there," Yusei smiled. "We're all family after all."

"Yay!" Patch and Darla smiled.

"As you already know, this was also when I first met Yusei." Atticus told Darla and Patch.

"Right..." Darla replied. "So, you two knew each other before this?"

* * *

The flashback soon starts. Atticus was at the train station with the others as he had to get going for a solo adventure. He then looked back and waved to the others with a small smile. Cherry and Mo waved back to him as he went to leave. Patch waved to his owner and where the others that came to wave him goodbye as he would be on the mission somewhere far away. Atticus waved back from the train as he soon rode away from home.

"Be sure to look for your distant cousin, Yusei Fudo!" Emily told him.

"How will I know when I find him?" Atticus asked as the train started moving.

"You have that picture I gave you?" Emily called out.

"Uh, yeah?" Atticus replied.

"Surely you can pick him out in the crowd if you look at that picture!" Emily told him.

"Did you give him the picture of Yusei as a baby or one from the internet?" Patrick asked Emily.

"...Does it matter?" Emily smiled bashfully.

"Atticus has never met Yusei before, and where he's going to New Domino City, which is a place he's never been to." Patrick reminded her.

"I'm sure he can figure it out." Emily smiled.

"Hmm..." Patrick replied.

"How am I gonna find my cousin with this?!" Atticus complained as he had a baby picture of his distant cousin. "Oh, well... Can't blame Mom for at least trying."

A random picture was soon flown to him in the form of a paper airplane. Atticus looked around before it hit his head and he reached for it before opening it up. Luckily, this picture was a much better help.

"Oh, that works..." he then smiled as he leaned back. "And now to enjoy the ride until I make it to New Domino City..." he then let out a small yawn as he looked forward to the trip to meeting his very distant cousin.

* * *

The train ride soon took hours. Atticus soon fell asleep as he held his backpack close while thinking and dreaming about visiting New Domino City until the dream soon turned into a vision.

* * *

It seemed to be nice and all so far as Atticus wandered around before he soon finally found his cousin. "Yusei!" He soon saw Yusei was on a vehicle and where he saw some Duel Monsters.

"Hmm... That looks interesting..." he commented to himself.

The setting seemed dark and mysterious, almost like in a gothic horror novel. And where he soon saw Yusei hold a new card in his hand.

"This looks serious..." Atticus said to himself. "What kind of dream is this?"

"This is not a dream, but a vision." Princess Luna's voice said.

"Luna?" Atticus replied.

The Alicorn Princess of the Night soon appeared.

"Ah, I thought that was you," Atticus smiled to Princess Luna. "So, is this a vision?"

"Yes, Atticus Fudo, and you must pay close attention at what happens next." Princess Luna told him.

"Oh, all right, I thought it seemed a lot more than just a dream." Atticus nodded before taking a look for himself.

The two of them soon watched what would happen next. Yusei appeared to be running, but he didn't look too scared or concerned.

"Strange, he is running, but he is not scared or concerned." Princess Luna said.

"I wonder what he's up to?" Atticus replied.

"Oh, those were some close calls," Yusei smirked before he soon did a double take. "Uh-oh. I got a feeling they're about to get closer!"

A dragon-like Duel Monster soon came out and shot an energy blast towards him.

"Whoa!" Atticus yelped.

"Is that what they call a Duel Monster?" Princess Luna asked.

"Yeah... One of them, but it looks different." Atticus replied.

"How about a little help, Stardust Dragon?" Yusei glared as he got ready to face the Duel Monster.

The Duel Monster roared while flying off.

"I know it's a dragon..." Atticus told Princess Luna. "A Stardust Dragon if I'm guessing correctly."

Someone else soon came out.

"Jaden Yuki..." Atticus commented. He soon saw that Strawdust Dragon was soon taken as it was sucked in by a blank card. "I have a headache..." Atticus groaned as this felt like a lot to take in. He soon saw that Stardust Dragon now looked different. "Uh... That doesn't look too good..." he soon said nervously. "It looks like it's been turned dark now."

"You have very interesting visions, Atticus." Princess Luna commented.

"You said it." Atticus said.

Yusei appeared to be watching Jaden in action now along with his distant cousin.

"There you are, Yusei." Atticus smiled to his cousin.

* * *

The scene soon changed as it was now shown a wreck of a site and where he saw Yugi and what seemed to be what was left of his grandfather. Atticus rubbed his eyes as he looked around with wide eyes. And where he soon saw a dragon he had never seen before get Yugi out of the area and onto a rooftop at a time before the wreck, and where he saw that he wasn't the only one on the roof, but also himself, Yusei, and Jaden.

"What is happening?!" Atticus asked. "Luna, what does this mean?!"

"It should seem that this will include the past, present, and future will all be joining forces," Princess Luna said. "Or in this cas,e just the past and present against someone who is from the future."

"I'll be sure to help," Atticus said. "...Even if I don't remember ever meeting my distant cousin."

"Probably not since you were abandoned after you were born." Princess Luna replied.

"And it looks like I'll be waking up soon." Atticus said.

"I wish you a lot of luck, Atticus," Princess Luna said. "I know this might be overwhelming, but I know you can handle it."

* * *

Soon enough, Atticus woke up. He looked all around and it felt like the train was slowing down. And where he saw the train was stopping at a new train station that looked somewhere old. The train soon stopped and the passengers were allowed out. Atticus yawned and stretched as he soon went to join the passengers out before sending a group text to the others to let them know that he was all right.

After sending the text, he soon began to look around for his distant cousin as he looked at the picture that flew right to him as a paper airplane. He seemed to have a long look around, but sooner or later, he would find his cousin.

"He should be easy to find thanks to this picture." Atticus said.

* * *

It took Atticus a while before he ran into two people and he soon asked them if he's seen Yusei.

"We were just about to go and see him actually." One of the guys replied.

"Wow, what a stroke of luck." Atticus smiled.

"Maybe you'd like to come with us?" The guy suggested. "We know where to find him."

"I'd appreciate that, thanks," Atticus replied. "I'm his cousin."

"You must be a distant cousin then." The second guy said.

"Yeah, that's me," Atticus nodded. "My name is Atticus."

"Oh, yeah, I think he told us he was expecting your company then," The first guy replied. "Something about a phone call."

"My parents called him informing him that I'd be visiting." Atticus said.

"Come on, let's go find him, I think I know where he might be." The first guy told Atticus.

"Thanks, guys," Atticus replied. "Who are you by the way?"

"I'm Jack Atlas." The second guy replied.

"And I'm Crow Hogan." The first guy added.

"You're not related to Hulk Hogan by any chance?" Atticus asked the first guy.

"Not that I'm aware of, but that would be cool." Crow chuckled.

"I just assumed with your last name." Atticus said.

"I dunno, I'll ask my mom." Crow smirked.

"Fair enough." Atticus said.

They soon walked off together and Atticus looked around his surroundings.


	2. Chapter 2

"Yusei shouldn't be too far away." Crow told Atticus.

Atticus soon saw what vehicles they were going to ride through the city on.

"I think you're gonna like it here." Jack commented.

"I do so far," Atticus smiled. "And are these your rides?"

"Uh-huh, we use these to get around everywhere," Crow nodded. "Especially whenever I need to make a delivery."

"These can also be used for Turbo Duels." Jack said.

"Turbo Duels?" Atticus asked.

"You've never heard of a Turbo Duel?" Jack and Crow asked him.

"Is that like the next level of a duel in Yu-Gi-Oh?" Atticus replied.

"It's a duel where you'd need a Duel Runner or a Duel Board." Crow said.

"A Duel Runner?" Atticus asked. "Duel Board?"

"You have a lot to learn, buddy." Jack chuckled to Atticus.

"I sure do because I only know about dueling, but I have a feeling there's a new way of summoning some monster cards." Atticus said.

"We'll see." Jack replied.

Atticus smiled as he followed them and they soon found his distant cousin.

* * *

Yusei seemed to be staring out into space as he had some things on his mind as they came to go and see him.

'Looks like he's got something on his mind.' Atticus thought to himself.

"Yusei!" Crow called to the boy before looking concerned. "You had that bad dream again, huh? If only it was just a dream, but it was so long ago, and New Domino City has rebuilt itself since your father's research was compromised."

"Right," Jack agreed. "You need to stop trying to change things that can't be changed. The past has passed, and you need to let it go, and embrace the future. Besides, your cousin is here to see you."

Yusei soon looked to see Atticus who waved.

"Hey, Yusei?" Atticus replied.

"Yeah?" Yusei replied.

"You might not know me, but I'm your cousin, Atticus," Atticus said. "I'm from Greendale."

"Oh, yeah, Aunt Emily and Uncle Patrick called and said you'd be visiting." Yusei replied.

"It's so nice to meet you, Yusei." Atticus smiled.

Yusei soon gave a small smile back. "Nice to meet you too, cous."

"So, what's this about a bad dream?" Atticus asked.

"It's complicated..." Yusei sighed. "I had a terrible dream... It's been bothering me for a while now."

Atticus frowned as he had a feeling it had something to do with Yusei's past.

"Well, don't worry about it," Crow said. "And you know if I agree with Jack, I must really mean it."

"I wish it was that easy." Yusei replied.

"A friend of mine once said that you have to put the past behind you." Atticus told his distant cousin.

"Like I said... I wish it was that easy." Yusei replied.

"I bet I know what'll cheer you up, mate." Jack said as he tossed a helmet to Yusei until he caught it.

"Yeah, come on, Yusei," Crow smiled. "Let's ride!"

Atticus had a feeling that might be the answer. "Any room for one more?" he then asked.

"Of course!" Jack and Crow told him.

"All right." Yusei smiled.

"Then let's ride!" Atticus smiled back.

"All right!" Crow beamed.

* * *

They soon rode off together on their own vehicles down the road, and where Atticus could tell why Jack and Crow knew this would cheer up Yusei. Yusei still had stuff on his mind, but he rode along with his best friends.

"Rolling around at the speed of sound~," Atticus sang to himself. "Got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow, Can't stick around, have to keep moving on~" Unfortunately, Atticus's song he was singing to himself was cut short as he felt someone's energy coming. "Hmm...?" he paused slightly. "Who's that?"

Yusei, Jack, and Crow soon looked and saw a new person on a different looking Duel Runner.

"Hey, looks like we got a tailgater!" Crow told the others.

"I've never seen that Duel Runner before." Jack commented.

"Must be new." Atticus said.

"I don't even recognize the duelist who's driving it." Crow replied.

"I can't believe it, he's challenging us to a duel!" Jack realized.

"Well if he's so eager to want to duel, we should accept his challenge." Atticus said.

"If it's a duel he wants, a duel he'll get." Yusei agreed with his cousin.

"Whoever this guy is, he's in big trouble." Atticus smirked.

"He's all yours, guys," Crow smirked back. "Do it!"

 ** _'Duel Mode engaged.'_** Yusei's Duel Runner told him.

"So cool!" Atticus smiled.

"All right, let's rev it up!" Yusei replied to the others.

"Is that your catchphrase or something?" Atticus guessed.

"Maybe?" Yusei smirked innocently.

"I'll take that as a yes." Atticus smirked back.

"Right," Yusei nodded. "Here we go!"

 _'This is going to be so much fun.'_ Atticus thought to himself.

"And so began a new friendship and a brand new adventure," Atticus's voice narrated to his family. "But what we didn't expect was the duelist would do something unspeakable."

Stardust Dragon was soon summoned.

"Awesome..." Atticus whispered to himself as he was in awe. He soon saw something familiar in the duelist that Yusei was facing hand, and where it was a blank card. "I don't think so!"

"A blank card? What is that for?" Yusei wondered.

"Oh, no..." Atticus said as he went wide-eyed.

The blank card shot out numerous other Yu-Gi-Oh cards which attacked the Stardust Dragon instantly.

* * *

"I couldn't believe my eyes." Atticus narrated.

"Why?" Darla's voice asked.

"It was incredible..." Atticus's voice replied. "I had never seen such a thing, and I've seen a lot."

"What was it?" Patch's voice asked.

"The blank card was actually able to capture a Duel Monster." Atticus's voice told them.

"Like a Venus Fly Trap against a... A.. Well... Um... A bug?" Darla replied.

"You could say that, yeah." Atticus agreed.

* * *

Back in the flashback.

"No way..." Atticus whispered to himself.

"Am I seeing things?!" Jack asked. "Stardust's Dragon, it's-"

"Gone!" Crow added. "Been stolen!"

"But how can that be?" Yusei wondered.

"I'm not sure." Atticus said.

They soon heard a wicked laughter. "A great many things are possible, Yusei, and now that I have the mighty Stardust Dragon, the demise of your era in time is one of those things!" he then mocked.

"Who _are_ you?" Yusei demanded to know.

"I doubt he's gonna stop to tell us." Atticus said.

"Your friend is right... See ya!" The duelist laughed wickedly before bolting off ahead of them.

"Whoa, now that's fast." Atticus said.

"Wait! Stop!" Yusei called out, but it was of course no use.

The others soon stopped as the duelist seemed to teleport away.

"Stardust..." Yusei muttered as he looked at his card as it seemed to blank from the monster's image.

Atticus frowned as he could tell that card was very important to Yusei. Yusei sighed softly.

"Uh, let's go somewhere." Atticus suggested.

* * *

They were soon in a garage.

"Would someone tell me what just happened?" Yusei complained.

"I would, but I don't know myself." Crow shrugged.

"I'd say it's magic, but I don't even know." Atticus said.

"I still can't believe he took Stardust." Yusei frowned.

Atticus tried to think of a way to cheer up his cousin.

"Why did that maniac take him," Jack commented. "That's what I'd like to know."

"What's up, guys?" A woman's voice asked as the door opened.

Atticus soon looked to see who the woman was. The woman was joined with a pair of green-haired twins.

"Akiza, Leo, Luna," Jack said once they came. "Look, no offense, but this really isn't the best time for a social call."

"I have a feeling it's important." Atticus said, referring to why Akiza, Leo, and Luna were there.

"You got that right... Whoever you are..." The boy twin replied.

"My name is Atticus," Atticus replied. "I am Yusei's distant cousin."

"Um, h-h-hello, there." The girl twin smiled bashfully to him.

"Wow, are you guys twins?" Atticus smiled to them. "I've always wondered what it would be like to have a twin."

"Trust me, it can be awesome." The boy twin smiled back.

"That's nice," Atticus smiled. "So, what brings you here?"

"Oh, right," The boy twin replied. "Whoever said this was social, Jack? We happen to be here on business!"

"Business? What's up?" Yusei asked.

"Leo and I were surfing the Web researching Duel Monsters' history when we saw this." The girl twin said before handing something to him which was a tablet.

Yusei took it and took a look with the others.

"Hey, I recognize that guy." Crow pointed out.

"Same here." Atticus said.

"I should hope so," Jack said to them. "That's Maximilian Pegasus, the Chairman of the Industrial Illusions. He's the creator of Duel Monsters!"

"And look who's next to him!" Crow pointed out.

"Yugi..." Atticus whispered. "Whoa..."

"Yugi Moto: The King of Games himself," Yusei commented. "They say he's the best duelist to have ever picked up a deck."

"Doesn't look so tough to me," Jack scoffed. "Of course, how could you with that dated haircut? Still, even I admit he's a dueling legend. What I would give to see Yugi in action way back in his day."

"Surprisingly, I got the chance to see him in action and even got to duel him even if it was a short duel." Atticus said.

"Really, huh?" Jack asked him.

"Yeah, he's one of my good friends." Atticus nodded, remembering the time with The Pyramid of Light.

"How did you meet him?" Crow asked.

"Let's just say I have my ways of time travel." Atticus said.

The others smirked to him.

"Any reason you wanted to show this to us?" Atticus then asked Akiza.

"No, scroll over to the next page." Akiza replied.

"Um, okay." Atticus said.

"How did you meet him?" Crow asked.

"Let's just say I have my ways of time travel." Atticus said.

The others smirked to him.

"Any reason you wanted to show this to us?" Atticus then asked Akiza.

"No, scroll over to the next page." Akiza replied.

"Um, okay." Atticus said.

Yusei did that and soon saw a familiar sight. "Wait! Stardust Dragon?" he then asked.

"But that card didn't exist back then!" Jack commented.

"Exactly our point." Leo replied.

"Look. The article says that all sorts of dragons appeared one day, and, like, almost blasted all of Europe." Crow said.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Atticus said.

"But, I don't ever remember hearing about this, and this is a major historical event!" Yusei commented.

"That's just it; this is new history, "Akiza told him. "Somehow, the past has changed."

"And since the past has been changed, then doesn't that mean this timeline is about to cease to exist?" Atticus asked.

"It's very likely," Akiza replied. "Time travel is very dangerous."

* * *

And where Atticus was right as the city started to be destroyed.

"What's going on outside?" Akiza frowned.

They all soon rushed outside as this looked very frightening.

"I don't like the looks of this, guys!" Jack said to the others.

* * *

"Looks like I was right." Atticus frowned.

"How bad was it?" Darla's voice asked.

"Almost like it was the end of the world as we know it." Atticus's voice replied.

"Whoa." Patch's voice said.

* * *

"Leo, what's happening?!" Luna cried.

"Our city's vanishing!" Leo replied.

"But why?" Akiza frowned.

"Maybe I've seen one too many movies, but whenever something changes in the past, isn't it somehow supposed to change the future?" Jack commented.

"That's right." Atticus nodded.

"Yeah, so?" Crow replied.

"If the past has changed, that would mean that..." Yusei said before thinking back. "What that masked man said was true... Our era... Our period in time... It's meeting its end!"

Luna looked scared as there was soon glowing all around the others.

"Uh, what's going on?" Atticus asked as he saw the glowing.

"It's the Mark of the Crimson Dragon!" Akiza replied.

"And look, its power is surging through Yusei's Duel Runner too!" Leo pointed out.

"Crimson Dragon?" Atticus asked, looking confused.

"You've never heard of the Crimson Dragon?" Akiza asked Atticus.

"No." Atticus shook his head.

"The Crimson Dragon is an almighty cosmic entity made of pure sacred fire. It is the physical embodiment and cosmic manifestation of the mighty Dragon Star." Akiza informed him.

"Whoa." Atticus said.

Yusei soon walked towards the dragon.

"What are you doing?!" Akiza gasped.

"I'm not sure, but it's calling to me!" Yusei told her as he got on his Duel Runner and rode towards the dragon.

Atticus soon saw the dragon coming towards him and where it took him with. The others stayed behind as they had no other real choice. The Crimson Dragon soon Atticus in Yusei's duel runner with Yusei in it.

* * *

"It seemed as though we were in for a new adventure," Atticus then narrated like every time he would travel somewhere new. "And where we were going to arrive at a different time zone."

"Ooh..." Darla sounded very intrigued.


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't know where you're taking me, but if it's somewhere that can give me a chance to stop this, lead the way!" Yusei told the Crimson Dragon.

The Crimson Dragon soon let out a roar.

"Let's go!" Yusei called out.

"And looks like you won't be going with just the dragon." Atticus told his distant cousin as he was behind Yusei.

"Atticus, are you sure it's safe if you go too?" Yusei asked.

"Trust me I've dealt with much worse things." Atticus said.

"Well... All right, if you're sure," Yusei replied. "It's nice to see someone with some steely-eyed determination."

"With what I've had to face it comes naturally." Atticus reassured.

Yusei and Atticus soon nodded together as they began a brand new adventure together. They would then appear in a different time zone.

* * *

Yusei and Atticus soon rode in what looked like Atticus had a vision about on the ride over to New Domino City.

"This is just like my vision." Atticus said.

"My Stardust Dragon!" Yusei called out once he found an old familiar sight.

"Then this must be our stop." Atticus said.

"Yusei! How you and your new friend have followed me back in time, I do not know, but I do know, it changes nothing for you and Jaden!" The mysterious duelist seemed to sneer. "If you do not perish by my hand, the hands of time will do you in!"

"Hands of what?" Jaden muttered.

"Hands of time." Atticus told him.

The duelist soon laughed wickedly.

"Hold on!" Yusei called out, but the duelist soon got on his own Duel Runner and began to leave them.

Atticus soon used his magic to try and stop the duelist. Jaden and Yusei looked a bit shocked that they were left in the dust like that as Atticus seemed unable to stop the duelist.

"Dang it!" Atticus groaned.

"It's okay, cous, you tried." Yusei comforted.

Jaden looked to them as he felt very confused over what was going on.

"We better start explaining." Atticus said.

"Um, please do, I feel a little lost." Jaden replied.

"Is there a place we can talk?" Atticus asked him.

"I think I might know a place." Jaden said.

"Great." Atticus said.

* * *

They soon walked off to talk about this as Jaden seemed very lost and confused.

"I wish we could tell you more, but we're a little confused ourselves." Atticus replied.

"It's true." Yusei said.

"Are you okay?" Atticus soon asked their new friend.

"Who, me? I'm all good," Jaden replied. "Just a few scratches."

Atticus was impressed that Jaden only had a few scratches.

"Jaden... That's what we called you, right?" Yusei asked the boy.

"Yep, that's my name, and dueling's my game," Jaden smirked. "Of course it didn't seem like much of a game to that guy... At all."

"Yeah, judging by the damage he did with Stardust Dragon." Atticus said.

"He has another agenda." Yusei replied.

"Whatever, I'll get my payback, you'll see!" Jaden reassured before looking to Yusei's Duel Runner. "That's quite the ride you got there. Looks like something out of the future."

"It is." Yusei clarified.

"It is?" Jaden repeated. "What do you mean it is?"

"What he means it is from the future." Atticus told him.

A voice soon spoke to Jaden.

"Another time? Aw, quit messin' with me," Jaden smirked towards Atticus and Yusei. "Besides, how would you guys know?"

"From a news report on a tablet." Atticus said.

"Maybe from this mark." Yusei then said as he showed a marking on his arm that was like a tattoo.

"I'm guessing that's not just a tattoo, but also is how the Crimson Dragon is summoned, right?" Atticus guessed.

"That is correct." Yusei nodded to his distant cousin.

"Cool." Atticus smiled.

"So... You and Yusei have gifts, huh?" Jaden asked.

"But of course we do," Atticus replied. "And I'm guessing you have a special gift too, right?"

"Well, it looks like we all have something new in common, don't we, guys?" Jaden winked.

"Yes, Jaden," Yusei replied. "Now tell us how all of this guy started with you and the masked man."

"Well, some classmates of mine kept reporting that their duel cards were getting snatched," Jaden replied. "I went looking for the thief, and found you-know-who."

"I'm guessing your thief would have to be Mr. Mask." Atticus said.

"Mr. Mask?" Jaden repeated.

"Since we don't exactly know his name, I'm calling him Mr. Mask." Atticus said.

"I suppose that fits." Jaden replied.

"Anyway, no need to worry, we'll do what we can," Atticus said with confidence so that they could fix the future of Yu-Gi-Oh. "The only question is where did he go next?"

"My guess is he hopped back in time to the era when he makes his big move, when he changes history, and alters the future forever." Yusei guessed.

"Whoa! Whoa! What do you mean 'changes history' and 'alters future'?" Jaden asked. "History hasn't changed. I'll show you."

"Oh, boy..." Atticus sighed as he had a bad feeling about this.

"Let me check the Domino City database for a newspaper article that'll prove it to you that history has-" Jaden told them as he brought out his laptop before gasping. "Completely changed!"

"If we're reading this right, then that means our Duel Monster cards are going to start vanishing and everything around us is about to be destroyed." Atticus said.

"Why is this guy doing all of this?" Jaden frowned.

"I don't know, but he's doing it as we speak!" Yusei replied.

"And if we don't hurry, this time period could be next." Atticus said.

"No way! Well, as long as I've got-Neos is gone!" Jaden replied, taking out his card only for it to go blank.

"Oh, no, it's starting!" Atticus panicked.

Buildings were soon seen being destroyed.

"Your era in time is crumbling away," Yusei told Jaden. "First your Duel Monsters cards, now everything else!"

"But why is he erasing Duel Monster cards from existence?" Atticus asked.

"We'll have to ask him that when we meet him again." Yusei told his distant cousin.

"Hmm..." Atticus replied.

"So, what're we supposed to do now, guys?" Jaden asked.

"Now we move!" Yusei replied.

"And I think we already know where we're going." Atticus said.

"But where?" Jaden asked.

"Come with us." Atticus told him.

"Alright." Jaden said.

* * *

"And we soon left to a brand new place which was familiar to me," Atticus then narrated to his family. "We met a new friend of mine, who is still an old friend, and I hope to adventure again with very soon because he was very fun to hang around."

"Yugi." Darla guessed.

"Right." Atticus smiled to his little sister.

"Let me guess; the site you saw when you arrived wasn't a happy one, right?" Patch guessed.

"I'm afraid not..." Atticus sighed. "It was very terrible, I'm just glad you guys won't have to see anything like it."

"So what happened?" Darla asked.

"Well, we made it there, and that's when we saw Yugi..." Atticus replied.

* * *

Atticus, Jaden, and Yusei soon arrived where they were sent from the Crimson Dragon and the Duel Runner.

"You okay?" Jaden asked once he saw someone who had fallen and had a headache.

'Wow, this is the second time I've met Yugi.' Atticus thought to himself.

"It's okay, Yugi. You're safe now." Yusei told the boy.

"Where am I? Is my grandpa okay? Where's Pegasus?" Yugi asked frantically. "Wait. Was it all just a dream?"

"Unfortunately no, we've just gone back a few hours before Pegasus arrives." Atticus told him.

"Atticus Fudo? Is that you?" Yugi asked.

"Hey, Yug, long time no see." Atticus smiled to his new old friend from a previous adventure.

"How have you been?" Yugi smiled back.

"Ah, same old, same old," Atticus replied. "It sure is great to see you though. How's Téa?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Yugi blurted out.

"...I didn't say that she was?" Atticus smirked. "I'm just curious is all."

"Oh, uh, she's fine, I guess." Yugi replied bashfully.

"And as for Joey and Tristan?" Atticus asked.

"They're pretty good too," Yugi replied. "Man, it just feels like ages since we last saw each other."

"It sure does." Atticus said.

"Here's the deal, bro," Jaden said to Yugi. "It's not about where you are, but when."

"We've taken you back in time," Yusei added. "Back to just before those Dragons blasted this place."

"So, all we have to do is stop the Masked Man, but before that, we'll have to scare off the crowd so no one gets hurt." Atticus said.

"Look! Neos is back!" Jaden smiled to his card.

"So, Atticus, who are your friends?" Yugi asked.

"My name is Yusei Fudo, I'm a distant cousin of Atticus's." Yusei replied.

"And I'm Jaden Yuki!" Jaden added.

"We're from the future." Atticus told Yugi.

"We also know who you are." Yusei added.

"No big whoop." Jaden helped.

"What?" Yugi gasped about them being from the future.

"Well, I guess it's kind of a big whoop," Jaden replied. "Bottom line though, we're here to save the world."

"And the only way to do that is to stop the Masked Man." Atticus said.

"He's right," Yusei agreed with his cousin. "Like you, we've seen what happened if he's not stopped."

"This guy seems like he's made it his mission in life to take down Pegasus." Jaden added.

"But why?" Yugi asked.

"Well, we're not sure about that just yet, but we do know this much," Yusei replied. "If Pegasus goes, the Duel Monsters world he's created-"

"It goes with him," Jaden added. "Along the things that sprang from it. Like schools, cities, people, you name it."

"Oh, man!" Yugi frowned.

"Yeah, and for what ever reason, this masked man wants to erase Duel Monster cards from existence." Atticus informed.

"Together, we might be able to stop this maniac," Yusei said to Yugi. "Will you help us?"

Yugi blinked, but soon stood up in strong determination. "That guy hurt my grandpa, and it sounds like he's also trying to hurt the game I love, so I'm more than willing to help you guys any way that I can." he soon said.

"That's a good Yugi," Atticus smiled. "Now first we have to scare off the crowd."

"All right! Let's do this!" Jaden beamed as he was excited to have 'The King of Games' on their side.

Atticus just knew how the four of them would be able to scare off the crowd.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Jaden asked Atticus.

Atticus nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

Jaden's spirit friends soon appeared to help out, and one of them threw what looked like a fireball into the tournament which terrified a lot of the people. Atticus was surprised how fast that worked.

"I hope this scares off Pegasus," Yugi smiled. "That way, he won't be crushed by that building."

"Right. Then he and the future of Duel Monsters are safe." Yusei added.

"Thanks, Yubel." Atticus said to the spirit.

"You're quite welcome, God of Strength." Yubel told him.

"I think not!" A dark voice called out.

Eventually, a portal opened up to show the mysterious masked man from before.

"You listen here!" Yugi glared. "We know what you're up to, and we're not gonna let it happen! Got it? So why don't you just make it easy on yourself, and go back to wherever it is you came from?"

"Where I came from is why I'm here," The masked man replied before removing his mask in front of them. "Perhaps it's time we get acquainted. The name is Paradox."

"What do you mean where you came from is why you're here?" Atticus asked Paradox.

"I doubt that you've heard about me, in fact, I've very much certain that you haven't," Paradox replied. "After all, I don't come from any eras of your time. I come from the future."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Yusei scoffed.

"Forget him, he's just trying to waste your time." Jaden replied.

"We don't care about your backstory, we're just keeping our world safe!" Yugi added.

"And that means we're taking you down in a duel." Atticus added.

"Oh, is that so?" Paradox chuckled. "Too bad, nobody thought to keep me safe, or those I loved, and now I will finally have my revenge. I will rid the world of what caused all my pain and suffering. That is why I am here, because I've realized something about this game you love so, this Duel Monsters, the world would be a far better place without it. The monsters, the spells, what good has come from it? True, you've all saved the world many times over with your precious cards, but against adversaries who are using the same cards to destroy it."

"So you're blaming Duel Monster cards for what happened to your time period?" Atticus glared. "Newsflash: the future hasn't happened yet, so thanks for the warning, but nothing is ever written in stone!"

"I didn't expect you to understand." Paradox scoffed.

"Let's get this duel started." Atticus glared as he got his duel disk on and put his deck into it.

"You senseless dolts!" Paradox glared. "Don't you see? Instead of trying to stop me, you four should be trying your best to help me! I told you, where I come from is the reason that I am here. Where I come from is a doomed future."

"No... Our future is a bright one." Yusei replied.

"It's not," Paradox defended. "It is a desolate place, so desolate I could no longer bear to see it through my own eyes. I took to wearing a mask, and it was through this filter that I finally began to see, to see why things had ended this way, and the answer was Duel Monsters. So what better way to destroy this virus than by traveling back to the beginning and not letting it spread? Time-Travel is no easy feat, but where there's a will, there's a way, and there was a will!"

 _'This guy is hopeless.'_ Atticus thought to himself.

"But don't you realize?" Yusei glared. "You're not just wiping out Duel Monsters, but people too! You're destroying everything and everyone ever touched by the game!"

"Of course I realize that, Yusei," Paradox replied. "As a matter of fact, that's what I'm looking forward to the most."

"What?! But that's heartless!" Atticus glared.

"You're one sick puppy!" Jaden added.

"Maybe the game's not perfect, but it's created more good things than bad!" Yugi called out.

"Besides, didn't you hear what Atticus said?" Yusei helped, defending his cousin's argument about the future.

"We still have a chance to change the future for the better." Atticus told Paradox.

"Well, then, it seems we have a difference of opinion, and since I doubt any more words will settle our impasse, perhaps we should seek to settle it another way." Paradox replied.

"If you're saying you want a duel, bring it on then, Paradox!" Yusei glared.

"Fine then," Paradox smirked. "I think it fitting to destroy the four of you with the very cards that you're trying to save."

Atticus glared as he knew this duel would be intense.

* * *

"And so, we had to d-d-d-duel!" Atticus's voice narrated.

"Atticus, do you always have to say it like that?" Darla's voice replied.

"Yes, it sounds cool." Atticus's voice smirked.

"Anyway, continue." Patch's voice said.

* * *

Paradox soon powered up his Duel Runner and stood up as it transformed like a robot on the show, Transformers.

"Whoa." Atticus said.

"Paradox! Get ready to get your game on!" Jaden smirked as his eyes seemed to flash red and green in each eye.

"You're going down, Paradox!" Atticus glared as his duel disk was ready.

"I'm right behind ya, Atticus!" Yugi agreed with his old friend who was his newest ally. Yugi's millennium puzzle soon glowed.

"Your twisted time crusade stops here!" Yusei glared as his mark began to glow. "Let's rev it up!"

"Yu-Gi-Oh!" Yugi called out as he changed himself as he was now The Pharaoh. "I have just one thing to say to you, Paradox," he then glared to the villain. "It's time to duel!"

"Let's go!" The boys all chanted together.

All four boys soon activated their Duel Discs. Yugi and Jaden soon glared at Paradox in reply.

* * *

"Kick butt!" Darla's voice cheered.

"Darla!" Emily's voice scolded.

"What? I said 'butt'." Darla's voice replied.

We soon shown two Atticus's and two Yusei's as Atticus was going to show the rest of the story the rest of the way as it would be like a movie for the others.

"Whoa!" Darla gasped, rubbing her eyes.

"Mom, could I have some more?" Atticus smiled. "Storytelling really works up my appetite."

"Me too?" Yusei added.

"Of course, boys." Emily giggled.

"So we're gonna be watching what happened in the duel?" Patch asked his owner.

"That's what it looks like," Atticus replied. "Right after seconds."

"Well, I'm pumped!" Darla smiled. "Maybe this'll be great as my own adventures!"

"It sure will," Atticus smiled back. "Plus I thought that showing the rest of what happened would be easier than telling."

"Not to mention more fun." Darla beamed to her big brother.

Emily soon served seconds and they all settled in to watch the duel for themselves like they were actually there like Atticus and Yusei were.

* * *

They each had lifepoints of 4,000.

"I'll go first, and I think I'll start by activating the field spell: Malefic World." Paradox smirked.

"I have a bad feeling about that." Past Atticus said.

"Don't show any weakness." Past Yusei told his cousin.

Paradox's Duel Runner soon flashed black and it seemed like they were in the middle of the space-time continuum.

"Never fails," Drell commented as he made a random appearance as he scrubbed his back while taking a bubble bath. "Get in the tub, then someone rips a hole in the time-space continuum."

"MY EYES!" Past Atticus yelped from seeing Drell in the tub.

Luckily, Atticus covered Darla's eyes before she could see Drell in the tub. Drell soon disappeared before anything else could happen.

"I'm gonna have a hard time washing that out of my brain..." Past Atticus muttered.

"What just happened?" Jaden asked.

"Malefic World!" Paradox smirked. "Now instead of drawing a card during my Draw Phase, I'm allowed to add a random Malefic monster from my deck directly to my hand. Next, I'll send Cyber End Dragon from my extra deck to the graveyard which means Malefic Cyber End Dragon now appears!"

* * *

Soon, a dark robotic three-headed dragon appeared on the field after the first one disappeared.

"Uh, does anybody have any idea what this malefic thing is all about?" Past Atticus asked.

"It's not some 'thing'," Paradox smirked. "It's the type of deck I use, a type from the future. One of the many advantages of time travel."

"Guys, didja see how he just summoned a Malefic version of that dragon?" Past Yusei asked Atticus and Jaden.

"Uh-huh! Just by banishing the regular version of Cyber End to the graveyard. That's all it took!" Jaden replied.

"So in other words; by getting rid of the monster's good version he can give life to it's bad." Past Atticus said.

"It seems that Paradox truly does see only the dark side of Duel Monsters." Yugi replied.

"Yes, Yugi, and I'm going to use it to defeat you all!" Paradox smirked. "But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I end my turn with one facedown."

"Listen, Jaden... Yugi... Atticus, we know what's at stake here," Yusei spoke up. "Our friends, our very future, it all hangs in the balance, it all hinges on this duel. It's true; we may have all just met and may not know each other's duel styles and strategies, but even so... right now... We have to fight as one. All our skills, all our past experiences, let's use them. Let's focus all of them to this one common cause!"

Jaden, Past Atticus, and Yugi all nodded in agreement.

"Agreed, Yusei, and I think you should be the one to start us off." Yugi told him.

"Right... Here we go!" Past Yusei replied as he soon got ready. "First I play the spell card, 'Reincarnation of Hope'. By sending two monsters to the graveyard now, we can draw a monster card later.

Yusei's two discards are Sonic Chick and Quillbolt Hedgehog.

"Fool, don't you realize there won't be a later for you, or your friends?" Paradox snorted.

"Well, right now I'm summoning Junk Synchron," Past Yusei told him as he summoned a monster which seemed to look like a robot wearing an orange-like uniform with a white scarf before summoning a pink chick with running shoes and a collar. "And since I was able to summon him; I can summon a level two or below monster from my graveyard Sonic Chick fan your feathers in defense mode."

* * *

"This is getting so exciting." Darla smiled.

"Oh, and the excitement doesn't stop there," Atticus smiled back. "He still had one Duel Monster card effect to activate."

"Hmm..." Darla smiled as she seemed to enjoy this so far.

"That chick looks like a cartoon" Patch chuckled.

"Yeah, it does, reminds me of Bean the Dynamite from old school Sonic the Hedgehog." Atticus agreed with him.

* * *

"Next I'll play Quillbolt Hedgehog's ability from my graveyard; an ability that, since I have a tuner monster already on the field, allows me to summon my Hedgehog straight to the field, but it won't be around for long, nor will any of my other monsters," Past Yusei then continued. "At least not in their present form. 'Cuz I'm tuning them all together! Just as Yugi, Jaden, Atticus, and I are combining our might, these three have now combined theirs! I summon forth, the synchro monster, Junk Gardna!"

"Whoa!" Past Atticus smiled.

"Synchro-what...?" Yugi muttered.

"I dunno, but I like it!" Jaden smiled before giving two thumb's up. "Too cool!"

"I place two cards face down, and end my turn." Past Yusei soon said.

"That was amazing." Patch smiled.

"It sure was." Atticus smiled back as he took a sip of his drink.

"How truly pathetic If that's the best you can do then you all might as well just give up here and now," Paradox sneered with a smirk. "Your decks are no match for mine, not since I snatched Yusei's Stardust Dragon!"

Past Yusei clenched his teeth, glaring; just the mention of that is both wound and threat.

"It's my move," Paradox continued with a smirk. "And with it, I'll show you a beast of true might. I send Rainbow Dragon from my deck to the graveyard, which, as you saw before, I can summon Malefic Rainbow Dragon!"

An Aurora Borealis was shown on the field before another Malefic Dragon appeared.

"Pretty..." Darla whispered from the lights.

"How dare you!" Jaden glared to Paradox. "Leave my pal's card outta this!"

Past Atticus soon started to realize why Paradox stole all those cards.

"Why do you think I was time-hopping in the first place?" Paradox smirked to the group. "So I could collect the cards I would need to destroy Pegasus! But 'til that time comes, I'll use them to destroy the four of you! Malefic Rainbow Dragon, attack! Spectral Surge!"

A blast of a rainbow light was soon shot from Malefic Rainbow Dragon's mouth.

"I play Junk Gardna's ability! And with it, your dragon's about to get switched into defense mode!" Past Yusei proclaimed.

Malefic Rainbow Dragon's prismatic attack struck Junk Gardna's thick shield, and is absorbed; it folds its wings in defense mode.

"Ha!" Past Atticus smirked at Paradox before remembering Malefic Cyber End Dragon. "Oh, crud..."

"Fine, then. You stopped one of my Malefic dragons, but as you recall; I have two out! Malefic Cyber End Dragon, attack!" Paradox soon called out.

"I thought maybe you forgot about that." Past Atticus sweat-dropped with a nervous smile.

"Well, I didn't." Paradox smirked.

Malefic Cyber End Dragon soon fired three fireballs at Junk Gardna, destroying it instantly and which sent Past Yusei flying.

"Yusei!" Past Atticus panicked for his cousin.

* * *

Past Yusei grunted and groaned when he ended up on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked.

"Say something, pal!" Jaden added.

"I'm all right." Past Yusei muttered as he now had 2,600 life points.

"Whew." Past Atticus sighed.

"Well, you won't be," Paradox smirked to Past Yusei. "When your lifepoints run out, because in a Malefic duel you don't just lose the match, you lose your soul!"

"Just like with the Pyramid of Light." Past Atticus gasped.

"I play Junk Gardna's second ability! When it's destroyed, it switches one of your monsters into defense mode, and next I play the trap, 'Miracle's Wake'!" Past Yusei soon glared to Paradox. "It allows me to wake up a monster from my graveyard that was destroyed this turn!"

Junk Gardna was soon seen coming back on the field as it was in defense mode.

"I'm sorry... I lost us some points there." Past Yusei said to the others.

"Don't be sorry, Yusei." Yugi replied.

"Totally! You just fended off attacks from two super-tough monsters!" Jaden added. "Way to go!"

"Yeah, Yusei, you did great." Past Atticus added.

"Thanks, guys. I did my best." Past Yusei replied.

"Against a deck that is stacked with the best cards throughout all of time, that's all we can do, and that's what we're going to have to keep doing to win this duel!" Yugi then proclaimed.

"That's right." Past Atticus nodded.

Jaden and Yugi also nodded in agreement.

"In my time travels, I've listened in on some of your past 'pep talks', but that, was by far your most pathetic!" Paradox scoffed. "I place a card facedown, and end my turn."

"Well, all right, then, it's my turn to take a crack at ya! Here goes!" Jaden replied before glancing at his card. "Yusei, cool if I piggyback off your play?"

Yusei nodded to that.

"All right, then I play this, 'Polymerization' now fuses Junk Gardna with Elemental Hero Neos that's in my hand!" Jaden then continued. "This is a first- two monsters from different times teaming up together as one! Here comes the best a' both worlds, the Elemental Hero: Neos Knight! Now, Elemental Neos Knight gets a supercharged power, equal to half the attack points of Yusei's Junk Gardna, and ya better believe I'm gonna put that power to good use! So charge, Neos Knight! Vanquish that Malefic Cyber End Dragon! Oh, and uh, by the way? Neos Knight's ability allows him two attacks in this one battle!"

Neos Knight was seen destroying Malefic Cyber End Dragon as it plunged its sword into it before going off to destroy Malefic Rainbow Dragon.

" _Two_ attacks?!" Paradox gasped before seeing Neos Knight destroying Malefic Rainbow Dragon.

"Aw, yeah." Past Atticus smirked a bit cockily.

* * *

"A little cocky, aren't ya, son?" Patrick teased Atticus. "I swear, Wart was that way as a teenager."

"You were friends with a guy named Wart?" Darla glanced at her father.

"Yep." Patrick nodded.

* * *

"You're not so tough." Jaden told Paradox.

Yubel soon arrived in spirit form. "Well done, Jaden. I've heard of knights slaying dragons before, but not two at once." he then said.

Jaden chuckled out of victory.

"Let's see if you're still smiling after this!" Paradox glared. "I play the trap 'Malefic Tune'! Now, since a Malefic monster has been destroyed, I get to draw two cards from my deck!"

"Fine, then I play four cards face down and end my turn." Jaden told him.

"Nicely played, Jaden," Yugi commented. "You have to tell me; where did you learn to duel with such heart and passion?"

"A little place called Duel Academy, and believe it or not, I usually skip class!" Jaden replied.

"Duel Academy..." Past Atticus repeated out of interest.

"Duel Academy sounds like a cool place." Patch smiled.

"Well! If I were your teacher, I'd definitely give you an 'A' on that last move!" Yugi smiled to Jaden.

"I sure hope the people of New Domino City give me passing marks after this-" Past Yusei smirked.

"It's my turn." Paradox reminded.

"Proceed." Past Atticus replied with a small sigh.

"Thank you," Paradox replied before his deck reshuffled itself. "But instead of drawing, I'll use my field spell to add a random Malefic monster to my hand," he then said as he did just that. "Excellent* Now I have all that I need to win this right at my fingertips; the future will soon be cured of the Duel Monsters plague! I send Stardust Dragon from my extra deck to the graveyard."

And where a dark side of Stardust Dragon soon appeared as the original was sent to the graveyard.

"Now rise up, Malefic Stardust Dragon!" Paradox commanded.

"Oh, crud." Past Atticus mumbled.

Malefic Stardust Dragon appears; its head is still its usual shape, but its eyes glow as cold points of blue and its muzzle is wreathed in blackish-purple steam. Rigid plates of black-and-white pattern armor lock into place over its head, torso, knees, and its wings are a mantle of black and white, without a single wrinkle or a trace of a sparkle. The air around swirls with dark power.

"My Stardust!" Past Yusei cried out.

"Paradox, you snake, what have you done to it?!" Past Atticus glared.

"I've simply introduced it to the power of the shadows, and there's more to come," Paradox smirked. "Next I summon Malefic Parallel Gear. Now, Parallel Gear, tune with my Malefic Stardust Dragon!"

"What?!" Past Yusei gasped.

"You're not the only one here who can synchro-summon, Yusei," Paradox smirked as the gears began to spin before bursting, becoming two black rings which aligned around the Malefic Stardust Dragon. "Behold; as the shadows drip down through the cracks of time, and witness how the darkness pools together: to create pure evil!"

"Not good..." Past Atticus said.

"And next I'll activate its special ability," Paradox continued. "You see, since I synchro-summoned, I'm allowed to bring back a synchro monster from my graveyard straight to the field! So rise once more, Stardust Dragon!"

"Two dragons again...?!" Past Yusei gasped.

"That's right, Yusei, and now, Paradox Dragon reduces the attack points of Jaden's monster, by the attack points of the monster just revived," Paradox replied. "So, Neos Knight, power down!"

"Neos, no!" Jaden gasped.

"Oh, dear..." Darla frowned.


	5. Chapter 5

Atticus looked over and gently took her hand out of comfort.

"I would say you four put up a good fight, only you didn't, especially with lazy Atticus," Paradox smirked. "Malefic Paradox Dragon, destroy Neos Knight!"

The attack was a dazzling stream of quicksilver glints of dark blue and silver, swirling around. Yugi and Yusei gasp; is this it?! Yubel watches, arms folded.

"You know what to do, Jaden..." Yubel then told Jaden.

Past Atticus had a feeling that Jaden had a trap to activate.

"You bet I do," Jaden told Yubel. "I play a trap; 'Hero Barrier'! Thanks to this, since I have an Elemental Hero out on my field, I can negate your attack!"

The blast breaks around Neos Knight's new, spinning shield.

"Nice shot!" Past Atticus cheered for Jaden's success.

"Yes, well done." Yugi agreed.

"Nice move!" Past Yusei added.

"I wouldn't be so sure! I play the trap 'Malefic Claw Stream'!" Paradox soon retorted. "Since a Malefic synchro monster is on my field, I'm allowed to destroy one of your monsters!"

The trap generates a fearsome mauve tornado and obliterates Neos Knight.

"Ooh." Patch winced.

"I'll see your trap and raise you with one of my own!" Jaden glared, sounding like he was playing a Poker game. "'Elemental Mirage'! Now, because an Elemental Hero on my field was destroyed due to an effect, I can bring it back! Return to battle, Neos Knight!"

"A perfect counter!" Yugi beamed.

"Aww, I just figured it would've been of me to letcha go without a monster out there with ya." Jaden winked.

"Smart thinking." Past Atticus smiled.

"Thanks, and you can count on me to put Neos Knight to good use." Yugi then added to Jaden.

The very wind swirls to stillness around Yugi's feet, the background music fades to sudden silence, as all attention shifts to the legendary King of Games. Next is Yugi's turn.

"Okay, Yugi, your move." Past Atticus said.

"I'm sorry, Yugi; but even your best won't be good enough here," Paradox mocked. "Not since I have Stardust Dragon, because due to Malefic Paradox Dragon's ability, your monsters' attack points decrease by Stardust Dragon's attack points!"

"This is all my fault." Past Yusei sighed.

"Aw, cous." Past Atticus frowned, feeling a little bad for him.

"No, it's not, Yusei," Yugi told him. "Stardust Dragon is your card, but you're not controlling it; at least, not yet."

"Whattya mean?" Past Yusei asked as he looked afraid to hope.

"Next, I'll place two cards face down to end my turn." Paradox then said.

"You're up, Yugi." Past Atticus said.

Yugi nodded before drawing the spell 'Ancient Rules'. Yugi's gaze is both level and determined; he hasn't glanced at his card; maybe he doesn't need to.

"Very well," Paradox replied, sounding unimpressed. "Let's see what you've got, King of Games."

"Yugi, my cards are your cards." Past Yusei commented.

"Well... In that case, I'll use Reincarnation of Hope's effect to add a monster from my deck to my hand," Yugi then said. "And the monster I choose is: Dark Magician!"

"As though I didn't see that coming." Paradox smirked.

"I then activate the spell card known as 'Ancient Rules'!" Yugi then continued. "With it, I'm allowed to summon forth a level-five-or-above monster directly from my hand! So take to the field, Dark Magician!"

"That's Yugi's best card." Past Atticus told his cousin.

"You're right, Atticus; it's even been called his ace in the history books." Past Yusei said.

"I know! Cool!" Jaden beamed as he was ecstatic.

"Well, as cool as he may be, he's still subject to Paradox Dragon's power-down effect." Paradox retorted to them.

"As long as Stardust Dragon is on his side of the field, Paradox is gonna be tough to beat." Young Atticus told Yugi, Past Yusei, and Jaden.

"Listen... If Stardust needs to be destroyed for us to have a chance, then destroy it," Yugi said softly. "Yusei..."

"It's better that, than being under the control of Paradox." Past Yusei replied.

Past Atticus could tell his distant cousin didn't want Stardust Dragon to be destroyed, but didn't see any other way to win.

"Ohh... How touching..." Paradox deadpanned. "Now GO already!"

* * *

"Wow, this guy really was heartless." Darla said.

"You have no idea." Atticus replied to his little sister.

"I think he should meet Queen Beryl." Darla said.

"So, what was Yugi's next move?" Patch asked.

* * *

"From my hand I play the spell 'Bond Between Teacher and Student'!" Yugi proclaimed.

"That's pretty sweet." Past Atticus commented.

"Since I have Dark Magician out on the field, I can summon his student, Dark Magician Girl, in defense mode!" Yugi continued.

Dark Magician Girl's entrance is a dance of perky glowing swirls, stars, and musical notes against pink and pastel bubbles; she arrives with a cheery salute against a big, pastel heart. The look she turns on the field situation is not as dire as her mentor's dark scowl, but she recognizes that this could be a bit of a sticky situation.

"Oh, my, it looks like it's going to be a real trick for us to come out on top here." Dark Magician Girl commented.

"Perhaps, but remember, as magicians, there's no trick we can't pull off." Dark Magician replied.

"Right." Dark Magician Girl nodded.

"Did those two just talk?" Past Atticus asked Yugi.

"But of course they did." Yugi replied.

"Well... That's new." Past Atticus blinked.

"Next, I play the spell 'Magical Gate of Miracles'!" Yugi then said.

A gate soon appeared and it seemed to have a void among it with another appearing on the other side.

"Now, since I have two spell-casters out on my field, I can switch one of your monsters to defense mode and switch it to my side." Yugi then said.

"I play a trap; 'Malefic Force'! And by equipping Malefic Force to my monster, it can't be affected by your spells!" Paradox replied. "Which means Paradox Dragon is no longer up for grabs!"

"Yes, that's true, but Stardust Dragon still is." Yugi smirked.

"Ooh." Past Atticus smirked with Yugi.

The gateway scoots over and the grasping hands grab Stardust by the shoulders and pull it into the gateway. Paradox, alarmed, looks from one gateway to the other, where Stardust is reappearing on the opposite side of the field. The Malefic Stardust Dragon card on Paradox's duel disk shatters as though it never existed.

"Yusei; Stardust Dragon is now back where it belongs." Yugi stated.

"Thanks, Yugi." Past Yusei smiled.

"You never wanted Paradox Dragon in the first place, right?" Jaden asked Yugi.

Yugi nodded, confirming this.

"Hmm... If I'm thinking correctly, then the Paradox Dragon, its ability is no longer in effect, which means your monsters' attack points return to normal." Past Atticus said to the others.

"He's right." Yugi agreed with what he just said.

Dark Magician and Neos Knight both soon had their original attack points back.

"Bravo, Yugi, but so what if you've restored your monsters' attack points?" Paradox replied. "My Paradox Dragon still has them beat with a total of 4,000. Face it, you're simply outmatched!"

"I wouldn't say that," Yugi retorted. "I play the spell card 'Dark Magic Twin Burst'! With this, Dark Magician's attack points increase by the attack point total of Dark Magician Girl."

"Oh, yeah!" Past Atticus smirked to Paradox.

"What the-?!" Paradox gasped.

Dark Magician's total attack soon rose to 2400.

"Now your monster is the one who's outmatched, Paradox, not only that, it also happens to be 'outnumbered', two to one," Yugi smirked. "So, attack, Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl!"

"It's time-" Dark Magician told his apprentice.

"Right! To kick some butt!" Dark Magician Girl replied.

They cross their staves, forming a fiery energy ball, gold at its center, crackling with fuchsia and indigo power.

"Ooh." Darla beamed.

"Here goes!" Dark Magician called out.

"Now!" Dark Magician Girl added.

"Twin Dark Magic Attack!" The two magicians proclaimed in unison before the energy stream strikes straight through Malefic Paradox Dragon's neck and again through its belly and tail. It explodes dramatically, shattering its equipped 'Malefic Force' as well and reducing Paradox's lifepoints to 3500.

"Oh, yeah!" Past Atticus cheered.

"Yeah!" Past Yusei added.

"Sweet!" Jaden laughed with them.

The field is slowly clearing of a dusty haze from the explosion's smoke.

"Ugh... These desperate moves change nothing!" Paradox groaned.

"Oh, we disagree." Past Atticus told him.

"Yes, you had two monsters, and now you have none!" Yugi added.

"And I thank you for that. Mm-hmm..." Paradox replied as he started glowing purple around the edges. "You see, all that you have done is clear the way for something else; something grand! Something almighty!"

"Spit it out!" Jaden told him.

"I activate the trap 'Malefic Paradigm Shift'." Paradox soon said.

* * *

The trap card duplicates itself, making one red shade, one blue, and one yellow; the three rise around Paradox and his runner platform, generating a sickly miasma swirl of energy that seems to cling around him.

"With Malefic Paradox Dragon destroyed, by sacrificing half of my life points, I can summon, my most wicked beast, Malefic Truth Dragon!" Paradox then said as he then tensed with pain as he sacrifices a staggering half of his life points, his hand tensing to a claw at his opposite shoulder, then pulling back to a fist, both fists clenched at his sides, Paradox shouts out in both agony and the glory of power, blue lightning crackling from the center of his body. " **RAAAUGH!** "

"This doesn't look good." Past Atticus gulped.

* * *

A ring of light spreads from beneath the globe of energy around the runner, opening a void of similar shades beneath. From the light-streaming portal rises this huge new dragon, and Paradox sinks himself waist-deep into the top of its head, eyes blank and mad with power. Its scales are mostly golden yellow, and a honeycombed, red jewel is set into its chest. Its wings are large and thick in structure, but allow it to hover over the field. And it's, of course, very, very big; one of its wings could probably swat Stardust out of the sky.

"Okay, I've seen some big monsters in my life, but that behemoth definitely takes the cake!" Jaden commented.

"And it probably ate it too!" Past Yusei added.

"This is your doing, Yugi! I hope that you're pleased with yourself!" Paradox replied.

"I place two cards face down and end my turn." Yugi soon said.

'This is bad,' Past Atticus thought to himself before looking at the clock. 'Pegasus will be here at any time.'

"It's my turn, and I activate 'Malefic Selector'!" Paradox soon proclaimed. "By removing Malefic Parallel Gear and Malefic Cyber End Dragon, I'm allowed to add two cards from my deck to my hand. Next, I'll send two monsters in my deck to the graveyard. and summon forth their dark counterparts: Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and Malefic Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"Both Blue Eyes and Red Eyes!" Yugi gasped.

"That's right. And now, for a taste of their power!" Paradox replied.

The Red-Eyes then launched a fireball at Dark Magician Girl.

"Oh, and since Malefic Truth Dragon is out, if one of your monsters goes down, all of your other monsters are also destroyed!" Paradox then said.

"Not good!" Past Atticus gasped.

"What?!" Past Yusei added.

"I play a face down! The spell 'De-Fusion'! Neos Knight, time to split!" Jaden soon played next.

Neos Knight soon split back into Elemental Hero Neos and Junk Gardna.

"Now, Yusei!" Jaden signaled.

"I play Junk Gardna's ability! It allows me to switch your monster from attacking to defending, which means Dark Magician Girl is safe." Past Yusei soon played.

The attack breaks around Dark Magician Girl, barely a foot from hitting her. She's very relieved. Malefic Red-Eyes backs off, switching to defense mode.

"Jaden, Yusei, great teamwork!" Yugi approved.

"Yeah, but we still have two more dragons to deal with!" Past Atticus told informed.

"I'll show you teamwork!" Paradox replied. "Go, Blue-Eyes! Pick up where Red-Eyes left off!"

Dark Magician was soon destroyed, leaving the team with 2100 lifepoints.

"Mm-hmm... Next, Malefic Truth Dragon's special ability activates!" Paradox soon proclaimed.

A debilitating brown dust fog, appears around Malefic Truth Dragon, as though the air itself is rusting and corroding. The cloud solidifies into hundreds of sharp thorns, glowing slightly reddish.

"Which means, all the remaining monsters you have on the field, are destroyed!" Paradox soon added.

"Uh, Yusei, now might be a good time for Stardust Dragon's ability." Past Atticus told his distant cousin.

"I hope you're right," Past Yusei replied before looking determined. "Sorry, Paradox, don't think so! I activate Stardust's special ability; so by releasing my dragon, I can negate your dragon's effect and then destroy it altogether! So say goodbye!"

Stardust begins to glow, then shatters, and the thorns stop, frozen mid-air.

"Whew." Darla sighed.

"So say goodbye!" Past Yusei commanded which made every single one of the frozen thorns about-faces in unison- and then the whole cloud lets fly in the other direction- straight for Malefic Truth Dragon!

"Not so fast! I play Truth Dragon's other ability!" Paradox replied. "By removing Malefic Rainbow Dragon in my graveyard from play, Truth Dragon is saved!"

Malefic Rainbow Dragon appears and dives in front of the thorns, a living shield for Malefic Truth Dragon- then shatters.

"And you know what that means," Paradox smirked. "It can carry out its attack!"

Malefic Dragon blasts Jaden's Elemental Hero Neos; Jaden weathers the blast.

"And remember, when one goes, they all go!" Paradox continued.

"Crud." Past Atticus glared.

* * *

Junk Gardna and Dark Magician Girl are destroyed. Past Atticus soon felt sorry for them, especially since Dark Magician Girl let out a scream before she had perished.

"Oh, and did I mention, for every monster destroyed by this special ability, you take 800 points of damage?" Paradox smirked.

The resulting blast knocks all four duelists off their feet, and leaves them with 500 lifepoints.

"That's right," Paradox smirked. "Lie there, and prepare to accept your fate!"

"Never." Past Atticus glared as he began to get up.

Past Yusei tried to get himself up.

"Listen to me, cous, we can't give up." Past Atticus told his distant cousin.

"And we won't," Past Yusei replied. "We can't give up no matter what."

"Keep fighting? You four can't even defend yourselves!" Paradox snorted. "Next, I play the spell 'Malefic Divide'; with it, I can bring back one Malefic monster from my graveyard, until the end of this turn, and the Malefic monster I choose to bring back is, Malefic Stardust Dragon!"

"No!" Past Atticus and Yusei then cried out.

'This is bad; with just 500 life points left, we won't stand a chance against Malefic Stardust Dragon's attack.' Past Atticus thought to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

"I warned you four to not interfere; and now, you'll see why!" Paradox told them as they wearily got back on their feet. "Malefic Stardust Dragon, unleash your fury! Now, Duel Monsters shall perish, and buried deep beneath its ashes, will be you four and all the monsters and cards you hold so dear!"

"My worst fear," Past Yusei muttered to himself. "It's actually coming true, all is lost."

"Ohh, lighten, bro!" Jaden replied. "Yeah, things might not look too good, but you forget, we have a secret weapon on our side."

"That's right; because the four of us believe in Duel Monsters with all of our hearts while Paradox does not, and when you believe, you always have a chance." Yugi added.

A huge white fireball laced with black is still flying toward them.

"That's right, we still have a chance!" Past Atticus nodded before looking to Jaden, having a feeling what one of Jaden's face down cards was. "Jaden, mind if I activate one of your face downs?"

"Hmm... Well, all right, as long as you know what you're doing." Jaden smiled to his new friend.

Past Atticus nodded before glaring at Paradox. "I'm activating the spell card: Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! Which allows us to add Kuriboh or Winged Kuriboh to our hand from the deck!" He glared before looking to Yugi. "You're up, Yugi."

"Hey, not bad." Jaden smiled.

"Thanks." Past Atticus smiled back.

"Right. Kuriboh!" Yugi replied as a card soon appeared in his hand. "I activate your special ability; an ability that lets Kuriboh take the hit from Stardust Dragon instead of us!"

"Smart move." Patch smiled.

"Yugi, I will make you pay dearly for that little stunt!" Paradox threatened.

"I'm not so sure you will, Paradox, because at the end of this turn, Malefic Divide's effect will be gone, which means Malefic Stardust Dragon will be gone." Yugi retorted.

"I know this works out fine in the end, you guys are here aren't you? But I'm on the edge!" Darla gasped.

"Well, that's what a good story does for ya." Atticus smiled to his little sister.

"But not the real Stardust Dragon 'cuz it returns to the field." Jaden smirked.

Stardust rises again, wings scattering sparkles, a beacon of hopeful light, hovering at their backs.

"Welcome back, Stardust Dragon." Past Atticus smiled.

The Stardust Dragon then roared a small reply.

"You're welcome." Past Atticus said.

"Atticus." Yugi replied to Past Atticus.

Past Atticus looked over to Yugi.

"It's up to you now," Yugi continued. "It's your move. Just know that we're behind you; all of us are."

" _M-Me?_ Are you sure?" Past Atticus replied.

Yugi nodded, confirming this.

* * *

Everyone that Past Atticus ever knew that were his friends and family appeared as spirits as they were all behind him. "Cherry..." Past Atticus whispered.

"Go for it, ya big lug!" Cherry coached. "Remember, a dream is a wish your heart makes!"

"You can do it, buddy!" Hercules smiled.

Past Atticus smiled as he looked back to them with tears in his eyes as he felt emotional.

"I'm just jealous that you're better than I'll ever be." Atlas said bashfully.

"You got this, Atticus!" Past Patch smiled.

"Atticus, I know I haven't known you as long as Cherry has, and I don't show it a lot when we hang out, but I really look up to you," Sabrina said as even she was there. "You're kinda like a big brother to me. You're very brave, smart, and so nice. You remind me a lot my dad."

"We all believe in you, Atticus." Mo smiled.

Past Atticus smiled back to all of them with joyful tears in his eyes, feeling touched that they all believed in him. The others looked to him as many thoughts ran through his head as he saw all of his friends and family there to support him as he began to feel more determined about himself. And where with that it was his turn and with this one turn him and the others were going to win the duel.

* * *

The others soon began to watch Past Atticus in action.

"All right. Let's do this," Past Atticus soon said out of strong determination. "For Duel Monsters and all my friends, and the people of New Domino City."

Yugi nodded to that, looking proud.

"Yeah, no doubt, now let him have it." Jaden told Past Atticus.

"It'll be my pleasure," Past Atticus replied before glaring at Paradox. "I play a trap!"

"Stardust Mirage, oh, no!" Paradox panicked.

"Oh, yes! And since Stardust Dragons on the field; I can summon all the monsters that were destroyed during this turn!" Past Atticus told Paradox.

"Atticus, how did you get so smart?" Darla smiled to her big brother.

"It just comes to me." Atticus smiled back.

All four monsters who were destroyed soon reappeared on the field.

"But I just got rid of all of them!" Paradox gasped.

"Now for our draw and for your downfall, Paradox!" Past Atticus glared at Paradox as he took the top card from his deck to his hand.

"I hate to interrupt good trash-talkin', but here, this is worth it!" Jaden soon spoke up. "The trap 'Neos Spiral Force'! This doubles the attack points of one monster on the field!"

"I also play a trap: 'Dark Spiral Force'!" Yugi then said. "And due to this force, I can select a monster out on our field, and, double its attack points once again!"

"10,000 attack points! No!" Paradox gasped.

"I bet you added your own Duel Monster in the duel for the big finish." Darla smiled at her big brother.

"You'll see." Atticus smiled back to his little sister.

Stardust Dragon, glowing a potent blue, rises into the sky, along with Dark Magician, glowing similarly purple, and Neos, glowing gold.

"Dark Magician, attack!" Yugi called out.

"Elemental Hero Neos- attack!" Jaden called out.

"Let this be proof, the light will always overcome the dark!" Past Yusei added before calling out once it was his turn. "Go, Stardust Dragon! Attack!"

"So I guess you didn't get in that attack." Patch told his owner.

"Who said I didn't?" Atticus replied.

"Huh?" The others asked as they soon watched.

Past Atticus seemed to play a card which resembled Superman in a way.

"Where did you get that card?! I've never seen anything like that!" Paradox glared.

"I got it from my teacher!" Past Atticus glared back. "Now go, Superman, and join in the attack!"

Stardust has a incandescence bright turquoise, flanked by the smaller comets of Dark Magician and Neos, and breathes a blast that shines even brighter. Dark Magician adds a burst of purple light that circles the column of light, and Neos' addition shows as sparks of orange. The Yu-Gi-Oh Superman soon joined in with a bright light that was red, yellow, and blue.

"Now go, Super Dark Cosmic Wave!" The four duelists then called out together.

The attack soon hit Malefic Truth Dragon and Paradox, finishing off the duel.

"Oh, no!" Paradox frowned.

The quadruple blast, an oblong of blue and white sparks with purple spots and orange stripes of pure power, along with the red and blue lights is on a direct collision course with Malefic Truth Dragon, and Paradox himself. It hits, and Paradox's life points sink to 0 as he disappears into the bright light.

" **NOOOOOOO!** " Paradox cried out as he had lost.

And with that, the duel was officially over as the field spell vanished.

* * *

Domino City was soon restored back to normal with a happy blue sky as everything was peaceful again once Paradox was gone.

Yugi, Jaden, along with Past Atticus and Past Yusei stand on the rooftop on which they first met, watching a gorgeous orange and red sun set over the distant hills, and where it seemed like everyone on the ground was having a blast.

"So, looks like our work is done here!" Jaden said.

"Looks like it." Yugi nodded in agreement.

"Oh, well, I guess this is goodbye then, think we'll all meet again sometime?" Jaden asked.

"Totally." Past Atticus smiled.

"Yeah, but let's hope that when we do, the whole world of Duel Monsters isn't on the line again." Past Yusei added in agreement.

"You said it, Yusei," Yugi agreed. "Maybe we could duel each other. Whatever happens, I know that the bond we formed here today is one that's going to stand the test of time."

All of time." Jaden said as he held his hand out.

"Absolutely." Past Yusei replied.

All of them soon joined hands together like true friends. A pact of friendship across time. It's the beautiful close of another epic adventure.


	7. Chapter 7

We are shown the skies of New Domino City as it was saved.

"Well, cous, we better get going." Past Atticus said to his distant cousin.

"Right." Past Yusei nodded in agreement.

"Ooh." Darla smiled.

A portal soon opened up in the sky as if to send Past Atticus and Past Yusei back to where they came from.

"It sure is gonna be great to be home again." Past Yusei sighed to his cousin.

"Sure is." Past Atticus smiled.

They smiled to each other as they soon went back in time again to go back to Akiza, the twins, Crow, and Jack.

* * *

 ** _An hour later..._**

"At long last, I finally feel like I can let go of the past, and focus on the future," Past Yusei told Past Atticus about a lesson he learned during this experience. "Paradox may have painted a bleak picture for the world, but I know the future isn't set in stone; it's what we make it."

"That's right." Past Atticus smiled.

* * *

"What a great lesson." Darla said to herself as she took that as advice.

Atticus smiled to his little sister.

* * *

"And together, we're going to make it bright!" Past Yusei then smiled back to his cousin.

Past Atticus nodded in agreement. Akiza and the twins soon came to the two once everything was restored back to normal, thankfully enough. The rest of the visit for Past Atticus was both very peaceful and very fun.

"So, you're twins, huh?" Past Atticus smiled to Leo and Luna. "It must be cool having a twin."

"It can be sometimes." Leo smiled back.

"And at times it can be a pain." Luna said.

"Well, you started it." Leo said to his sister.

"Nuh-uh!" Luna pouted to her brother. " _You_ do!"

Past Atticus sighed as he knew that most siblings argued.

* * *

"Man, if I have twins, I don't know what I'll do." Atticus commented to himself about his own future.

"I'm sure you'll know what to do." Yusei assured his distant cousin.

Atticus smiled as the images soon stopped as the story came to an end about their big time travel adventure with Duel Monsters.

"Whoa." Darla smiled.

"Well, I guess that's it," Atticus said. "It was a pretty cool visit though. I just wish you sent me a better picture of Yusei, Mom."

"I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't thinking straight." Emily smiled bashfully since she gave Atticus a baby picture of Yusei.

"But then who sent you the second picture?" Patch asked his owner.

Atticus took a breath before pausing and looking over. "Uh, Dad?" he then asked.

Patrick smiled bashfully as he had done it.

"That answers that question." Patch said.

"Okay, but seriously, you were friends with a kid named Wart?" Darla asked Patrick.

"Yes, Darla, I was," Patrick replied from his early childhood. "He was a squire in training a very long time ago, and I did what I could to help him."

"Cool." Patch said.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you about it sometime when we have more free time." Patrick told Darla.

"Sounds like fun." Darla replied.

"How about we see a duel between two cousins?" Patch smiled up to Atticus and Yusei.

Atticus and Yusei looked to each other.

"Well, I can never deny a duel when the opportunity comes up." Yusei chuckled.

"And it would be a shame not to test out this deck you sent me." Atticus smiled.

"All right then, let's finish up dinner and have a duel then." Yusei chuckled.

"Sounds good to me." Atticus chuckled back.

They soon went to finish up their dinner until they were done.

"I have lots of my own adventures," Darla said to Yusei. "Have you ever heard of Sailor Moon?"

"I've been told about her." Yusei nodded.

"I help her out," Darla smiled. "I have powers with the Legendary Silver Crystal, and I have my own Moon Power, and I hang out with her and the other Sailor Scouts a lot."

"That sure is amazing." Yusei said.

"Oh, it really is," Darla replied. "...Except for when the girls drool over Atticus because of how strong he is."

Atticus looked bashful about that fact.

"Luckily he only has his eyes for Mo." Patch said.

"Yeah, yeah..." Atticus replied. "Any special girls in your life, Yusei?"

"Oh, um, I don't think so." Yusei stated softly.

"What about Akiza?" Atticus asked.

"...What about her?" Yusei replied as he seemed to scratch his face suddenly.

"You like her, don't you?" Atticus asked. "And I mean like her like her."

"Uh... Akiza...?" Yusei replied.

"Yusei?" Atticus smirked, crossing his arms, waiting for him to say it.

"Uh... I may be close with her..." Yusei said bashfully.

"That's a yes." Atticus smirked.

"Uh, so you wanna duel or what?" Yusei asked.

"Ah!" Atticus smirked before laughing as he caught his cousin red-handed about liking Akiza.

"Are we going to duel or what?" Yusei blushed.

Atticus chuckled as they soon went to have a card duel together.

"Can I watch?" Darla asked.

"Sure, I'd like an audience." Atticus smiled to his little sister.

"Yay!" Darla cheered.

Atticus and Yusei smiled to her as they came in the backyard and Patch soon ran to join them.

* * *

"I wish Casper could see this..." Atticus said. "Where'd he run off to this time?"

"Doc Croc and Yoyo took him and Wendy somewhere." Darla shrugged.

"I have a feeling it'll be in a fairy tale." Patch said.

"That's usually where they go whenever they want Casper with them," Atticus replied. "Hopefully it's somewhere good, and maybe he and Wendy can dance at a ball if there's a prince and princess."

"Casper and Wendy~" Patch chuckled.

"But what about that one girl he met?" Darla asked.

"Kat Harvey?" Atticus replied. "You'd have to ask Cherry about her."

"No, not her, the one that he met that had five baby siblings." Darla said.

"Ohh... Jamie Grover..." Atticus then said. "...Hmm... The last I remember is that Casper had to help her out with something about the babies, he basically saved her life, and she had a bit of a crush on him."

"Sounds like he's in a love square." Patch said.

"You said it..." Atticus replied as he shuffled his Yu-Gi-Oh card deck while Yusei did the same with his before they would play.

After they shuffled their decks, they soon shuffled each other's decks before placing their own decks in their duel disks. Darla soon sat down to watch them in action. Atticus gave her a pillow so she would be comfortable. As the duel started, both Atticus and Yusei now had 8000 life points.

"Now, just because you're family doesn't mean I'll go easy on you." Atticus smirked.

"You talk a big game." Yusei smirked back as Yubel soon appeared.

"Guess you couldn't resist to watch this duel either, Yubel." Atticus smiled.

"I thought it might be a good idea," Yubel replied. "I still can't believe you know Yugi Moto so well."

"Yeah, we became good friends when I first played Duel Monsters." Atticus nodded.

"Who is he talking to?" Darla asked Patch as she couldn't see Yubel.

"...I haven't the foggiest." Patch replied.

"We better start the duel before your family starts thinking you've lost it." Yusei told his cousin as he noticed Darla and Patch were looking like they were beginning to think the strong teenage wiccan was going crazy.

Patch seemed to do the 'crazy gesture' with his paws.

"Let's duel!" Atticus proclaimed in a way that Yugi would.

"You can start us off, cous." Yusei said.

"All right!" Atticus smirked as he took out a card. "For my first attack, I call upon Cinderella!"

"...Cinderella...?" Yusei blinked. "Really?"

"You don't wanna make the same mistake that Yugi did, do you?" Atticus smirked as he had a Cinderella card. "I may be a boy, but I do love Cinderella, especially when she's hardcore like this, and not just facing against a wicked step-family with having chores 24/7!"

Cinderella was soon seen summoned on his side of the field and where she had her ball gown on along with her glass slippers and where her pumpkin carriage was seen summoned next to her.

"Hmm... Interesting..." Yusei replied. "Maybe Cinderella would like to meet Stardust Dragon?"

"Sure when it's your turn which will be soon because I'm ending my turn by setting two cards face down." Atticus said.

"Do they always narrate their gameplay?" Darla asked.

"From what I've seen, yes." Patch replied.

"Very interesting." Darla said as they watched to see what Yusei's move was going to be.

"Very clever, cousin, very clever," Yusei replied. "Perhaps I'll save your Princess Cinderella for a Future Battle."

"You tease!" Atticus smirked.

"Yes, and while she's there, she'll go up against Stardust Dragon!" Yusei smirked back.

"Oh, please, the only way you can summon him is by synchro-summoning one tuner monster and another tuner monster or non-tuner monster to synchro-" Atticus started before seeing Yusei's smirk staying. "You're gonna do just that on this turn, right?"

"You know me too well." Yusei smirked before doing just that.

"Shoot..." Atticus sounded bashful now.

* * *

After doing the Synchro summoning, Stardust Dragon appeared on the field.

"Heheh... Aw, crumbs..." Atticus replied.

"Try to beat that, Cinderella." Yusei smirked to his cousin.

"Well, try attacking Cinderella while her pumpkin carriage is on the field because as long as that's on the field, she can't be destroyed." Atticus smirked back.

"...Seriously?" Yusei asked.

"Mm-hmm~" Atticus smirked.

"Smart move." Patch smiled.

"Thanks, boy." Atticus replied.

Yusei soon saw that the pumpkin carriage had only 800 defense points since it was in defense mode. Darla sat on the edge of the seat as Atticus and Yusei dueled for a while.


	8. Chapter 8

The duel soon came to a close, and where it was because Atticus had one monster to synchro-summon to end the duel. Atticus wiped his forehead and smiled.

"Atticus, you are amazing!" Darla beamed to her big brother.

"Yeah, that was amazing with Archfiend!" Patch smiled.

"Aw, come on, you guys, I'm not that good." Atticus smiled back.

"Are you kidding? You were amazing." Darla smiled back.

"That was great, cous." Yusei smiled to Atticus.

"Well, thank you, guys." Atticus smiled back.

They soon heard a helicopter coming and where they saw the initials JA on the side of it as it was delivering a crate to the Fudo house.

"I got it! I got it!" Atticus called out as he ran towards the crate.

The crate was soon placed in front of the house. Cherry came out of her house as Atticus came in front of his.

"Hey, Atticus! You got a box in your yard!" Cherry called out.

"Yeah, I know!" Atticus replied.

The crate was soon opened to show Yusei's Duel Runner as well as a new Duel Runner.

"Hey!" Yusei smiled.

"Sweet!" Atticus beamed to his cousin. "It's your Duel Runner!"

"Wow, it's even cooler up close." Darla commented as she came to watch with them.

"But whose Duel Runner is this?" Patch asked as he sniffed the new Duel Runner before having a feeling Yusei and the owner of the helicopter and some others had something to do with the new Duel Runner.

"Maybe it's for me." Atticus smiled hopefully.

"Surprise." Yusei smiled back.

"Did you do this?" Atticus smiled to his cousin.

"Not just me." Yusei smiled back as the helicopter landed to show Jack, Crow, and Akiza.

"Hey, guys!" Atticus smiled.

"What is going on over there?" Cherry muttered as she stood by the door, leaning against the door-frame, crossing her arms.

"You like the Duel Runner we made you?" Crow asked Atticus.

"Yeah, this is so cool!" Atticus smiled. "Thanks, you guys!"

"Why don't you test it out?" Akiza asked.

"Sure! Okay!" Atticus smiled as he got onto the Duel Runner.

* * *

Cherry soon came over to see what the big fuss was.

"Whoa!" Crow beamed and dashed up in front of her. "Hi, I'm Crow, who're you?~"

"...Totally violated with my personal space!" Cherry replied uneasily.

"Ease up, Crow." Yusei smirked.

"Atticus?!" Cherry complained.

"Jack, Crow, Yusei, this is my best friend in the whole world who's like a sister to me, Cherry." Atticus introduced.

"Uh, hey." Cherry greeted.

"Cherry, this is my cousin Yusei and his friends, Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan." Atticus then said.

"Any relation to Hulk Hogan?" Cherry smirked to Crow.

"Seriously?" Crow muttered as Atticus already made that joke.

"Already heard that joke, huh?" Cherry asked.

"Yep..." Crow said with a glance to Atticus.

"Great, the funniest joke I've ever had and you had to take it." Cherry complained to Atticus.

"Sorry." Atticus said.

"Jerk." Cherry said.

"Daffy." Atticus smirked.

"Bugs." Cherry smirked back.

Crow and Jack looked confused as it seemed like the two hated each other despite being best friends.

"Their friendship is kind of a brother/sister figure kind of friendship." Darla explained.

"Oh..." The others said as that seemed to make sense now.

A phone was soon heard ringing. The others looked to each other.

"Are you going to answer that?" Cherry asked.

"Maybe it's _your_ phone." Atticus smirked just to mess with her.

"I'll get it!" Emily told them.

"Okay!" Atticus called back to his mother.

"Do you know Yugi too?" Yusei asked Cherry.

"Yeah, I met him with Atticus when we were sent to Domino City." Cherry replied.

"And where we had to fight off Anubis." Atticus said.

"You fought Anubis?!" Yusei's eyes widened.

Cherry and Atticus nodded as they had crazy adventures together all the time.

"Uh, you won't believe who I have on the phone!" Emily informed them from the house.

"I better check this out," Atticus said. "Cherry, do you wanna come inside?"

"Meh, maybe for a little bit." Cherry shrugged.

They soon came inside.

"Who's on the phone, Mom?" Atticus asked.

"Hulk Hogan." Emily told them.

"No seriously." Cherry replied.

"I'm serious." Emily said.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Cherry smirked as she took the phone. "Hi, Mr. Hulk Hogan, I'll make this quick because according to the internet, you have a lot of ballet dancing and drinking to do because you're not a real wrestler."

 _'And she's proven that I was telling the truth in 3, 2, 1.'_ Emily thought to herself.

Cherry's eyes widened and her face paled as she was being yelled at. "It's for you..." she said in a shaky voice, holding out the phone before walking off, a bit sheepish and scared to death.

"Let me guess; she made Hulk Hogan mad?" Patrick asked his wife.

"I'm pretty sure," Emily replied. "I don't know Mr. Hogan that well, but based on what I've seen Atticus watch on Wrestling, he's not the guy to mess with."

"Yes, this is the same Atticus Fudo who helped John Cena and retrieve the WWE Championship Belt." Atticus smiled on the phone.

 _'I wonder why Mr. Hogan would be calling for Atticus?'_ Darla thought to herself as she and the others were surprised that the real Hulk Hogan had called the Fudo family.

"Is anyone else's life flashing before their eyes?" Cherry muttered in the background.

"A Muscle Moto X Off Road Challenge?" Atticus smiled. "Sounds interesting. Well... I'd love to go there, but if only I can bring my friends along. ...No, that girl was my sister-Friend. Best friend, she's like a sister to me. She tends to talk with her foot in her mouth."

"I'm right here, you know?!" Cherry glared.

Atticus looked bashful before going back on the phone. "Hang on," he then said before looking to Yusei, Crow, and Jack. "You guy wanna go to something called a Muscle Moto X Off Road Challenge?" he then asked them. "A lot of wrestlers are gonna be there like The Undertaker and Mr. Hogan said he'd be there too."

"Maybe now I'll find out if he's my uncle or not." Crow chuckled.

Atticus soon decided to ask that question to Hulk Hogan the same question.

 ** _"What'd you say that kid's name was?"_ **The famed wrestler asked.

"He says his name's Crow." Atticus replied.

 ** _"Crow... I feel like I haven't heard that name in so long..."_ **Hulk replied. **_"Sounds like my sister's kid."_**

"I didn't know you had a sister?" Atticus smiled. "What's her name?"

 ** _"She was very peaceful and majestic, so my parents named her Dove."_** Hulk replied.

"Dove. That's a nice name." Atticus smiled before seeing Crow's reaction after hearing that name.

" _Dove_... That was my mother's name." Crow said.

"Was?" Atticus frowned.

"She died a long time ago." Jack told Atticus.

"But, wait, if her name was Dove and Mr. Hogan's sister's name was Dove, then that means-" Atticus started.

"It's true!" Crow gasped as he realized something. "Hulk Hogan _is_ my uncle!"

"So, anyways, when's this Muscle Moto X Off Road Challenge?" Atticus asked Hulk Hogan from the phone.

 ** _"Hmm... What're you doing the day after tomorrow?"_ **Hulk asked.

Atticus looked to his mother, a bit softly.

"Aw... I can't say no to you..." Emily smiled. "You can go as long as your homework's done and your chores are taken care of."

"Wahoo!" Atticus cheered.

"If!" Emily smirked.

"When _aren't_ my chores and homework done?" Atticus smirked back before getting back on the phone. "Sounds good, Mr. Hulkster."

"He's right, you know." Patrick smirked to his wife.

Emily just giggled to that.

"Looks like we're having another WrestleMania adventure." Atticus smiled.

"Oh, in that case, bring Shaggy and Scooby along too." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Knowing those two, as long as there's food, they'll be there." Patch said.

Atticus chuckled to that. "Yeah, you're probably right. Hey, Cherry, you wanna come?" he then asked.

"As long as Hulk Hogan doesn't get back at me for that phone greeting." Cherry grinned nervously.

"I'm sure he won't." Darla said.

"Not like I'm scared of wrestlers or anything... I like Kane..." Cherry said. "I'm just glad Bane wasn't there."

"Who's Bane?" Darla asked.

"He's part of the League of Shadows," Cherry replied. "He's friends with Talia al Ghul. He was able to take out Batman."

"Yikes." Patch winced.

"Tell me about it," Cherry replied. "I think he might even be worse than Zarkos..." she then said before holding her own throat in memory of when they saw Zarkos again at the WWE Camp.

"Possibly." Patch said.

"How'd you get my number by the way?" Atticus asked the wrestler he was on the phone with.

 ** _"Cena gave it to me."_ **Hulk replied.

"Ah. That makes sense." Atticus smiled.

 ** _"So, see you in a couple of days?"_ **Hulk smirked.

"You know it." Atticus smirked back.

 ** _"Sounds good, little buddy,"_ **Hulk smirked. **_"I hope you kissed your mama goodbye, because you're gonna run home crying to her once I see how strong you are like Cena says you are."_**

"Oh we'll see who starts crying." Atticus smirked back.

 ** _"Let me tell_ you _something, brother, you_ may _be strong for your age, but I've been playing this game far longer than you have, and I intend to keep my title, and I'm not gonna let some kid like you ruin it for me!"_** Hulk smirked.

"Is that a challenge I hear?" Atticus smirked back.

 ** _"You're gonna wish you hadn't crossed Hulk Hogan."_** Hulk smirked.

"Hmm... I guess we'll see, but tell me why we call John Cena 'The Champ'?" Atticus smirked back.

 ** _"Ohh! A wise guy, eh?"_ **Hulk replied.

"Looks like we've got a rivalry starting." Patrick said.

"Our son is rivals with Hulk Hogan... This is not how I imagined my life." Emily chuckled.

"This should be interesting." Cherry said.

"You're telling me," Patrick nodded in agreement. "Looks like you guys will have another WrestleMania adventure."

"We can come too, right, Uncle Patrick?" Yusei asked about himself and his best friends.

"Well, if you'd like to, I think that would be fun." Patrick smiled.

"How can it not be fun?" Patch asked.

* * *

Eventually, Atticus hung up as Hulk had to get going, but he felt amazed to talk with one of the most famous wrestlers of all time on the telephone.

"Looks like you might have just found yourself a rival." Cherry smirked at her best friend.

"And his name is Hulk Hogan!" Atticus smirked back.

Cherry then played some air horn music like in John Cena's theme on her phone to add to the joke. Atticus simply rolled his eyes at that. Cherry gave a cheesy grin which was almost like an internet Troll Face.

"I can't wait." Atticus smiled about the upcoming adventure.

"Same here." Crow added.

"Yeah!" Atticus, Crow, Jack, and Yusei soon joined in a team high-five.

"Oh, don't mind me, the fifth wheel." Cherry smirked.

"Oh, ha, ha." Patch rolled his eyes playfully.

"Cherry, you wanna come?" Atticus asked. "I hate for you to stay home and be bored until I get home."

"Meh." Cherry shrugged.

"Can I come too?" Patch smiled up to his owner.

"Well... Sure," Atticus smiled back. "As long as you behave yourself."

"When haven't I behaved myself?" Patch smirked.

"Fair point." Atticus smirked back.

"Yeah!" They all then jumped up as they had another new adventure on the way which was sure to be a fun treat for them all.

But until next time, this is... The End


End file.
